Skip to main content

Popular Idioms and Usages Part T

By VJ
Here is the long list of idioms and usages starting with the letter T.

Take a back seat: To be inactive.
Take down a peg or two: To reduce someone’s ego.
Take the bit between your teeth: To take control over a situation.
Take with a pinch of salt: To accept the reality doubtfully.
Taken aback: Surprised.
Tea leaf: Thief. Cockney rhyming slang
The Andrew: Slang for British Navy.
The back of beyond: A lonely, desolate place.
The balance of power: Distribution of equal power among nations.
The balance of trade: The difference between the total imports and exports a country has.
The ball is in your court: The control over something is with you.
The bee’s knees: Of excellent quality.
The Big Apple (notice capitalization): New York City.
The Big Easy: New Orleans.
The bitter end: The limit of one’s efforts
The blind leading the blind: Uninformed people guiding others.
The Bread of Life: Jesus Christ.
The buck stops here: The responsibility ends here.
The call of the wild: The appeal of the nature in the raw.
The Collywobbles: Nervous state of mind.
The crapper: Lavatory
The die has been cast: The state is irrevocable now.
The full Monty: The complete of something.
The mutt’s nuts: Of great quality.
The order of the boot: Dismissal from a job.
The penny drops: A realization after a state of confusion or misunderstanding.
The real McCoy: Something which is not duplicate.
The shit hits the fan: Uproar caused by a previously unknown situation.
The status quo: The present condition.
The thin red line: A line of English soldiers.
The third degree: Torture used in interrogation.
There is an R in the month: The weather is cold.
There is more than one way to skin a cat: There is more than one way to achieve something.
Things that go bump in the night: Frightening or supernatural things.
Thorn in the flesh: A difficulty or embarrassment.
Ticked off: Rebuked.
Tie the knot: To get married.
Till the cows come home: For a very long time.
Tits up: Fallen over one’s back.
Tomfoolery: Great stupidity.
Top notch: Of excellent quality. Similar to The bee’s knees.
Tout de suite: Immediately.
Trick or treat: A simple threat.
Trouble and strife: Wife. Cockney rhyming slang.
Twenty four seven: Available daylong.
A two and eight: State of anxiety. Cockney rhyming.

That’s all for now. You can expect more in the coming days.

Copyright © Lenin Nair and certain other places including an unnamed proverbial resource
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated very strictly

Popular posts from this blog

Power of Short Sentences

By VJ
Post dedicated to Thomas Hardy (see History Today below). There are monster sentences like the one you encounter as the first paragraph of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens . One of my friends, whom I am getting equipped for his IELTS ( what is this? ), told me that the examination recommends long sentences. In writing classes also, I guess it’s longer sentences most tutors promote. But indubitably shorter sentences are more powerful . We will see why. Take a long sentence for instance: Tom Cruise, one of the finest actors in the whole world, is perhaps the most powerful celebrity to exist ever according to Time Magazine, but many people still dispute this fact and point out that there are more powerful and popular actors than Cruise, though they were unsuccessful in providing the total number of fans, who liked the films of those actors. This is a long sentence and it is very confusing . Though it has a logical construction and conveys a meaning, it falters in many occasions and seems
1 comment
Read more

Creative Writing: Crafting Characters With Emotional Appeal in Mind

By VJ
When you read the greatest fiction works ever, have you ever asked what was so compelling about them that you not only kept reading it, but you ended up reading all other major works of the writer? It may well be because the writer touched your emotional quotient quite a bit. Every reader has a unique taste . Some like to read suspense thrillers , some tender love stories, and some others dark horror and bloodshed stories . That’s why there are all sorts of genres out there. When a writer gives you what exactly you want, you will keep reading. Here we come to the emotional appeal. Character Imperfection Perfect characters may not always be the upshot of a writer’s deliberation. It may well be due to ignorance . Usually the upcoming writers take it for granted that if they create perfect characters, they will be able to garner a bigger audience . It is not true. You have to ask yourself what a character would do in a particular situation. Perfect characters—perfect gunmen, perfect
1 comment
Read more

Another Tiny List of Confusables

By VJ
Earlier, you may remember we published a list of confusable words . Here we are again, with such a list of words. Abjure/Adjure: Abjure means "to formally renounce (give up) something" such as a position. Adjure on the other hand means 'to appeal to' or 'solemnly order'. The governor decided to abjure his position due to political pressure. Normally, adjuring to the subordinates doesn't give many results. Amount/Number: Use amount when you have uncountable subject. Use number when it is countable. The amount of love one gets depends on the number of friends one has. Appraise/Apprise: Appraise is the word applied to quantitative evaluation of something. Apprise means 'communicate' or 'inform'. Appraising diamonds is the work of an expert. Joe apprised me of the schedule of events. Attorney/Lawyer/Solicitor: These terms are highly misinterpreted and confused by many people. Let me clarify. In the US, an attorney is any member
Post a Comment
Read more